Several years into his career as a ad salesman for a successful computer magazine, Ne Allen seems to have it all: an ambitious, beautiful wife, a fabulous Manhattan apartment, a clear view of the top of the corporate ladder. Until he's faced with a seemingly clear-cut moral choice, that is, his company sold, and Ned suddenly, brutally fired. Empty-handed, on the verge of losing his marriage, he is at the end of his rope when salvation occurs in the unlikely form of an old high school friend who is working for Jack Ballantine, a former real estate tycoon with a shady past who has recently made a much-heralded, public comeback.